The Emmaus High School softball team recently finished a successful season that ended with an appearance in the state playoffs.

The Hornets fell to the District One’s second-place team, Souderton, 2-0, in the first round last Monday, June 1.

Emmaus, which concluded the year 20-6 overall and a perfect 16-0 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, was an EPC semifinalist and finished runner-up in the District 11 6A tournament, qualifying for the state tournament for the first time in 16 years. The Hornets fell just short of winning the program’s first state playoff game since 2003.

Hornet head coach Rich Giering saw a lot of positives in his team and its season.

“Our goal for the season was to qualify for league playoffs,” said Giering. “Qualifying for districts and states, especially for the younger players to experience, helps out the program for the future.

“Going 16-0 in conference play, which is very hard to do in any league, was one of our top moments this season. Some other favorite highlights of the year were Abby Derr getting her 100th career hit; Mari Eiswerth earning her 200th and 300th career strikeouts; playing in league, districts and states, which hasn’t happened since 2010; and then Sydney Bennett’s walk off double in the (district) semifinals to beat Stroudsburg 2-1.”

The Hornets graduated three seniors, including Abby Derr, Brianna Gitski and Taylor Hauver.

“We had three seniors, which are always hard to replace,” said Giering. “Abby Derr has been a starter since ninth grade. Taylor Hauver was a starter as a sophomore and Brianna Gitski has been a major contributor as well. Their leadership, hard work and dedication to our program will definitely be missed and we wish them good luck going forward.”

Hauver finished with a team-best .443 batting average among players with 20 or more at-bats. She had 27 hits, scored 19 runs and added 12 RBIs.

Derr finished with a .392 average with 29 hits, 25 RBI and 26 runs scored. Gitski recorded a .319 average with 23 hits, scored 20 runs and contributed 17 RBI.

Bennett, a junior, had a .386 average with 27 hits, 21 runs and 10 RBI. Junior Julia DeFanti hit .329 with 24 hits and 23 RBI. Eiswerth, a junior, tallied a .347 average with 25 hits and 20 RBI. Junior Morgan Schwab notched a .316 average with 25 hits, 18 RBI and scored 14 runs. Sophomore Haleigh Gigliotti had a .321 average with 18 hits, 19 runs scored and 13 RBI.

Eiswerth pitched 129 innings with a 1.57 ERA and 190 strikeouts. There are a large number of underclassmen returning.

“We have a lot of younger players coming back who have a lot of experience and some JV players that the coaching staff is very excited about and ready to step in at the varsity level,” Giering said.